Saturday, 2 January 2016

La Sera - High Notes

Article by KevW

Does getting Ryan Adams to produce her new album mean that Katy Goodman's La Sera will ditch the noisy indiepop for a more earthy, Americana flavour? The first single from 'Music For Listening To Music To' suggests it may well do, but that's not the only change. Until now, the only permanent member of the group was Goodman herself, but as the album cover suggests, La Sera is now a duo. The man in question is guitarist, co-writer and her new husband Todd Wisenbaker. The other change of note is that this is their first live-recorded analogue record.

So there's every right to expect something a little different, and 'High Notes' is a rootsy, country-influenced stomp, but indiepop fans can rest assured that, while the sound has morphed a bit, this is still catchy as heck and filled with lovely melodies. With a few guitar twangs and an organic sound, 'High Notes' is bright and fresh but not tidied up so much as to make this sound like the work of someone else; plenty of the usual hallmarks remain. It's over as quick as a flash, but for two minutes, 'High Notes' stands out as one of the most contagious La Sera tunes to date. Roll on March 4th when the album arrives...